Inverter

[Caesar]

Hello All
Im considering installing an inverter in my C37 2018 so my wife can run her hair dryer when we are anchored up without access to shore power.
Obviously I should be ok installing a 2Kw inverter when the hair dryer is only 1.8Kw, however I would very much appreciate if anybody have actual "real life-hands on" experience with their own equipment please?
Does anyone run hair dryers with inverter supply?
Kindest Caesar

[Yngmar]

What's your battery bank like? A 2kW inverter is all good and fine, but unless your battery bank is huge it will kick it in the nuts pretty hard and drastically reduce its lifespan if you do that regularly. A LiFePo4 bank can handles this somewhat better than lead-acid, but still needs to be fairly beefy.

[Caesar]

Thanks Yngmar
Ive got 3 brand new 90AH AGM batteries installed and inverter will only be used on the rare occasions when we overnight without shore power.

[tiger79]

I fitted a cheap(ish) inverter for exactly that reason, to run a hairdryer at anchor.  I bought a 2000W "pure sine wave" inverter from Amazon.  They have a good selection, expect to pay £250-300.  I fitted it as close to the batteries as possible, and wired it with beefy cables and a MegaFuse.

Do not try to wire it in to your existing mains sockets, a much better solution is to wire it to a dedicated socket.  I installed one in the heads for hairdryer use, and one in the galley for an electric kettle or the microwave.

My inverter has a remote on/off switch, which I installed out of the way under the chart table.

When the inverter's in use, it does draw a hefty current.  It's kinder to the batteries to run the engine whilst the inverter is in use.

Here's a pic showing the inverter installed under the saloon settee, next to the battery compartment.

[Yngmar]

That's not a big bank, I'd go with a very small hair dryer and watch the batteries while having one finger on the inverter off button. Because what good is nice hair when nobody can admire it because there's not enough left in the batteries to switch on the cabin lights

But you can run a small to medium hair dryer off these AGMs if you must. It will mean replacing the batteries more often than before and watching like a hawk for overuse, but it can work. Don't forget an appropriate size fuse/breaker and beefy cables. The shorter the cable run, the better. We did run the Microwave off our 600 Ah bank, but even at that size it's quite a punch in the gut for the batteries. You'll be drawing in excess of 200A, that's what thick sheets of steel are welded together with

I know some other people who have this problem (high power demands for non-boaty stuff) and my recommendation to them was to fit a separate bank for non-boaty stuff such as hair dryer (or in their case, electric kettle, microwave, electric oven, espresso machine, etc.). That way the lights and the autopilot still work even when someone didn't watch like a hawk and drained the whole battery.

[tiger79]

You'll be drawing in excess of 200A, that's what thick sheets of steel are welded together with

Not necessarily 200A+ draw.  I keep a 1000W travel hairdryer on the boat, so only about 100A when operating on the inverter (not much more than a windlass draws).  Similarly, the electric kettle on the boat is a "travel" version, around 1000W.  I don't think it's a good idea to run a cheapish inverter anywhere near its rated capacity, so 1000W on a 2000W inverter seems about right.  So far, it hasn't killed my batteries, which are around 10 years old and are "stop-start" AGMs, so designed for high loads.

[sean c]

Caesar,
I had electrical issues on my boat and focused on electrical protection overall. I was concerned that the hard wired shore power system has RCD devices to protect people from electrocution, which is usually mandated by regulations, but inverters do not have this feature. Just overload to protect the device.
I fitted a portable RCD device to the outlet of the inverter which then fed to a power board.
Suggest you consider this whilst in the set up stage.
Sean

[Caesar]

Thanks for all your inputs which are all very useful.

Ive decided to buy a 2Kw inverter to run the newly purchased smaller 800W hairdryer. This way there will be a bit of excess power so I dont stress the inverter.

@Tiger79, you mention "do not wire to existing sockets. May I as why not?

Only reason I can think of is that the water heater and chargers are also wired to the existing grit but If I remember to switch them off before I run the inverter I should be ok I guess? Or?

Cheers.....

[tiger79]

@Tiger79, you mention "do not wire to existing sockets. May I as why not?

Only reason I can think of is that the water heater and chargers are also wired to the existing grit but If I remember to switch them off before I run the inverter I should be ok I guess? Or?

That's exactly why!  You will forget one day and flatten your batteries.  Having dedicated sockets is simple and foolproof.

[Caesar]

Thanks Tiger79, I will consider this of course. 

[nightowle]

Caesar,

Our setup is similar to yours and was done to aid the Admiral when a travel hairdryer would infrequently be needed on the hook.  We never have anything else running at the same time except possibly charging phones so there hasn't been a need to isolate a receptacle.  We've had this setup with a 2k Magnum inverter charger for 6 years now with our (3) 8D AGM house batteries.  The house batteries were not new at the time. All good.

[Caesar]

Thanks Nightowl, Ive purchased a 600w hairdryer for the Admiral now so therefor I bought a 1500W inverter pure sine instead of a 2000W unit as this will fit better in the compartment under the sofa.

I will connect that with 35mm2 cables which are only 80CM long so I think this setup will suffice.

All the best everyone and thanks again for your sublime inputs.....

Krgds Caesar